Monthly Collectible Letter

The Monthly Collectible Letter is a special letter that is released once a month. This letter contains high quality Premium Items called Monthly Collectibles. It is only obtainable by purchase via the La Victoire for a fee of $2.50(USD) each, occupying the first slot of the shop. It can also be obtained from other users.

Formerly announced as Donation Letter, Thank You Letter,. In their sealed form they are known as Sealed Envelops or Sealed Letter, this changes once the contents are released.

Contents

For the envelopes of 2003 there is a description error on Marketplace, the original descriptions have been wiped clean, it is possibly due to server changes over the years.

An envelope from a mysterious benefactor. Upon opening the letter, it reads: 'We hope that this gift shows how much we appreciate all that you've done for us. Thank you for your support!' (2003 - 2005 - 2009 - 2010)

An envelope from a mysterious benefactor. It is sealed with a strange magic power. The seal seems to grow weaker as it nears the middle of the month. (2004 - 2006 - 2013- 2014)

A letter from a mysterious benefactor. It is sealed with a strange magic power. The seal seems to grow weaker as it nears the end of the month. (2007 - 2010 - 2011)

A magical letter arrives from a mysterious benefactor. A vital force beats within, waiting for the middle of the month to reveal itself. (2011 - 2012)

A magical letter containing special items available only for the month of Month. Upon opening the letter, it reads: "Thank you for your support! Hope you enjoy these!" (2011 - 2012 - 2014)

Between the months of April and May of 2003, Gaia Online users made a thread in the (then) Question & Feedback forum to ease the cost of Gaia Online. The users were aware the Administrators pay for Gaia Online out of their own pockets and after deliberation, a donation system was set up.

This option allowed users to donate for the purpose of simply helping Gaia Online out with such expenses. However, the Administration of Gaia Online secretly created a Thank You Letter and manually put them into the contributors inventories. When these Thank You letters were opened, they revealed the first Donation Item, the Angelic Halo.

On December 1, 2003, the first "Sealed Envelope" was introduced. Prior to this, letters were only sent to the user on the 25th of that month. This caused a few problems as scams were developed where users who could donate would sell "donation spots" to potential buyers between the 1st and 24th. This ultimately required the buyer to trust in the seller that they would receive their letters on the 25th as there were no receipts or collateral to provide proof. Thus, Gaia's response to this problem was a sealed letter that could be instantly obtained when a donation was made.

While the original date of opening the letters was the 25th of each month, this date was moved in 2006, several changes were made to the donation system. The Administrators put up a poll about the best time to open Thank You Letters. As a result, in May 16, 2006 the letters were to be opened at the middle of the month.

On October 30, 2006, the items were renamed from "Donation Items" to "Monthly Collectibles," the staff citing concerns that since Gaia is a for-profit organization, it shouldn't give the impression of being a charity.

On December 4, 2006, there was an announcement about three items to one letter, referred to as a value pack; the cost of the letter remained the same. While it was advertised and hyped as being special, in truth it was done to encourage Gaians to buy the sealed in order to compensate for the low sales of the November items. The three to one letter continued throughout 2007, though it is unknown if it was done due to popularity or done for financial reasons.

On July 17, 2008, an announcement was made that the Monthly Collectibles would get a new date, going into the next month (August) the dates for the release would be the 8th. But the announcement stated that if the 8th didn't work out, then there would be adjustments until there was a date that would work for everyone. A reminded was posted August 5th.